Based on our success with our first attempt at dehydrated dog food, I decided I would grab a full box when I next went to Pet Store A. Unfortunately, they don’t stock the brand I was looking for, so I purchased what I thought was an equivalent product, a 2 pound bag of Sojos turkey recipe.

Thus I learned that not all dehydrated foods are created the same.

While the other brand was a great success, even with a fairly quick transition, this one failed. Frankly, this is probably the biggest gastrointestinal failure we’ve experienced this past year, and that’s saying a lot for The House of Two Dog Foodies who are actually fairly happy to try new things.

To prepare the food, Sojos instructions say to soak the mixture in an appropriate amount of filtered water and allow it to reconstitute for an hour at minimum, overnight in the refrigerator for optimum results.

So here it is after about an hour. Note that the ingredients are still pretty chunky, which gives the impression of heartiness (as opposed to the powder-turned-paste of the previous brand that we tried). However, as I found out, the chunkies are not to be desired.

For the first few dinners, I served it up similarly to how I prepared the other brand. I mixed the reconstituted Sojos with a home prepared blend of raw turkey and supplements, with Sojos making up about 1/4 of the meal. Both Bows were quite enthusiastic about their New! Food! as they usually are.

Then I bumped the ratio up to 1/2 Sojos, and that’s when trouble became evident. Perhaps I transitioned them too quickly. Sojos FAQs recommend a transition time of 2-3 weeks, but so do most foods that I switch over a shortened period. I gave this some thought and based on my inspections and observations, I’m not sure a longer transition would have made that much difference.

Both of their poops were pretty densely populated by orange and yellow chunks in the days following the introduction of this food. I wasn’t sure what to make of that, so I gave them a break one day for a full raw meal. Then the following morning, Bowpi threw up. All that was in her vomit was bile and undigested chunks of Sojos potatoes. The stuff had been sitting in her stomach for over a day before her body finally surrendered it.

Before you add water…

Sweet potatoes in and of themselves are not typically a problem. Both Bows have had potatoes in various dog treats without any digestive upsets, and I frequently bake sweet potatoes to add to their meals. However, I usually mash it up a little, and I never include the skins, whereas Sojos does.

This is also problematic because the ingredient seems to take a long time to fully reconstitute. Even after soaking for the recommended amount of time, many of the potato pieces feel quite hard. I know this because I started picking them out, piece by piece.

This human loves potatoes with skins. The Bows? Not so much.

Picking out the potato chunks after rehydration seemed to create a lot of waste, so I started picking out as much as I could while it was still dry.

This led me to observe that there are a LOT of potatoes in this mix. It is, after all, the very first listed ingredient. I assumed that even though turkey is listed second, this was due to the fact that it had lost some weight in the dehydration process. However, as Mike Sagman at the Dog Food Advisor points out, the published ingredients do not specify dehydrated turkey, but “USDA turkey” (which is also slightly different from just “turkey” on the packaging). Even if reconstitution increases the relative weight of turkey, all the ingredients would be rehydrated as well, and this would not change the fact that the ingredients are, by law, listed in order of weight before cooking.

I’m not sure how that shakes out if the ingredients are supposed to be raw, as the front of the bag claims the complete mix is made with “FREEZE-DRIED RAW turkey”. For those that are curious, there’s also some discussion of the relative nutritional value of freeze-drying raw versus air-dehydrating cooked meats in the comments section of the Dog Food Advisor link above, including a very recent comment from the company owner. It doesn’t definitively answer the question of proportions, but it does show that the company holds itself responsible for what people want to know about their food.

However it’s calculated, there’s still a buttload of sweet potato in this mix, probably more than I really have the time to pick through. But I am picking through it because I’m a cheap-ass, and I can’t stand the thought of throwing out something that I’ve paid good money for, dammit. I’m not exactly proud of how much energy I’ve spent de-tubering each pile of Sojos, but the process does seem to make the ingredients less, um, discernible on the way out.

With the formula thus compromised, I ended up using dollops of Sojos only to supplement up to 50% of their meals. Their poops were no longer nearly as colorful, and Bowpi didn’t throw up potato chunks anymore.

However, something else started to happen to Bowpi. She started to nibble and lick at her forearms, as well as the tops of her toes.

28 June 2011

This could be entirely coincidental, or even a result of environmental allergies and not food-related. There’s a section of text on the bag that addresses my concern:

Q: What if my dog has allergies?

Because Sojos isn’t processed into a pellet or sprayed with synthetic additives (which can burden the body with toxicity), your pet shouldn’t experience allergic reactions like they might with traditional pet foods. (Sojo’s bag)

Okay, but I’m not entirely convinced yet. Considering that Bowpi had such problem-free skin and fur last year, and because the location of her itchy spots is so oddly dispersed (despite appearances, she’s actually NOT licking her belly any more than usual)… well, I’m leaning towards this being a reaction to some ingredient in the food. Maybe pecans, a protein that she hasn’t previously been exposed to? At any rate, no more Sojos for Bowpi, and I’m monitoring her skin in the meantime. I’ll return to edit this review if her condition does not drastically improve several weeks after quitting Sojos.

Obviously, your mileage may vary depending on your pet’s particular food sensitivities. Bowdu hasn’t been breaking out like Bowpi, so he is still getting the de-potatoed mix. But I’m throwing out what feels like a quarter of the contents to make this work for us. This wastefulness, in addition to the inconvenient reconstitution process (which has me serving cold food, not something I prefer to do except in summer months), is why I doubt I’ll be trying this brand of dehydrated dog food again.

Yesterday, I picked out some treats for a Secret Santa package exchange on one of my dog forums. I hope the recipients will be as happy with the selection as I was when picking them out. And I’m assuming they don’t read this blog in the meantime — though it’s a lot to assume that just because one doesn’t have a dog blog, doesn’t mean they don’t read them…

It’s a grab bag for a couple of dogs who are lucky enough not to have any food allergies: Himalayan yak cheese dog chews, Zuke’s salmon formula training treats (a real favorite around here), Merrick beef tripe and liver steak patties (which smelled so powerful, they’ve got to be good). The clerks also threw in a couple sample pieces of Dogswell Veggie Life — chicken and sweet potato, and chicken and apple. Our dogs don’t get any processed chicken or beef, so I decided to pass along the freebies.

Their human is also getting some cute dog and Shiba-related trinkets. I’ll be announcing a giveaway later this week which will include an assortment of said items, so I will present those later.

All of the canine edibles come from “Local Pet Store A”, which is probably one of my favorite shopping places to buy anything, not just dog necessities. It’s not the biggest, cleanest, most spacious, or most well-lit pet store in town. But the people that work there make it more than just a site of commerce. I get a lot of pleasure from browsing the aisles, amused by the variety of pet goods, specialized formulas and novel proteins, packaging aesthetics, brand names, possibilities. This local pet store offers a range of sensations that I just don’t get at PetsMart, Petco, or online pet food retailers.

And the thing is, there are at least half a dozen other local retailers that offer this kind of familiar, friendly shopping experience, all within easy driving distance. I think we’re lucky to live in such a dog-friendly area of the world, where there are so many off-leash dog parks and pet stores offering a holistic, local, and independently-distributed goods. I’d like to keep this a great place to live with dogs by shopping locally, whenever I can.

Reasons to shop local:

You save money. When we first moved here, I assumed that corporate stores were capable of offering lower prices simply because they have the capacity to purchase mass supplies. However, I found my locally-owned pet stores to have quite competitive pricing.

So you can get a greater quantity of a better quality food that isn’t even available at the national chains for less at your local store? Awesome!

You get better discounts. PetSmart has what they call a “PetPerks” card, which entitles you to “exclusive” prices on a rotating selection of stock each week. And they’ll also subscribe you to their mailing list so you can get spammed and told what to buy. Big whoop. It’s hardly a perk at all, in my opinion.

Several of my local pet stores, on the other hand, offer cumulative discounts. At my most frequented store, for every $100 I spend, I can take $10 off my purchase of any “accessories” (i.e., not food or flea meds — treats, toys, nutritional supplements and most hardware are okay). So while there are limitations, I can basically spend that discount on something I probably would have bought anyway.My local stores also offer running discounts on certain brands of food — buy 10 bags of Primal Raw, and get $5 off the next bag, for example. So while you won’t find coupons for Canidae or Solid Gold or Orijen in your Sunday circulars, there are still ways to get discounts on brands of dog food that aren’t distributed through national chains. Which leads me to my next point…

You get a better selection. In preparation for this entry, I visited my nearest PetSmart to check out their dog food aisles. While there are at least six long, fully-stocked aisles, I was not impressed by the illusion of variety that was offered. Frankly, there’s little difference between Pro Plan, Beneful, and Purina One, since they’re all part of the Purina family. Royal Canin’s marketing strategy offering differently-packaged kibble labeled by breeds is just laughable, playing up gullible pet owners’ beliefs in breed exceptionalism. What was on the shelves, with the exception of Blue Buffalo and Wellness (the latter of which is a fairly new addition), was of average quality at best.

Most disappointing to me is their selection of sturdy, long-lasting chews at PetSmart. Nearly everything they offered was rawhide-based, which many dogs have a problem digesting. While our dogs have never encountered any problems with rawhide, I prefer to give them other chews whenever possible. At the chains, I’ve had a hard time finding alternatives. At local pet stores, I have found pig’s snout, chicken feet, beef trachea, ostrich lung, natural shed antlers, deer shank bones, and much, much, more. My local stores also offer a ton of other edible dental chew brands that, frankly, are superior to the handful of common brands I’ve found at chain stores.

Photo taken 10 August 2010. Bowdu surveys the rawhide selection and remains unimpressed.

The thing about non-national brands is that you have to be willing to explore. I try a lot of things for the first time when I buy them from little stores. I have to watch and gauge my pets’ reactions to determine if I’ll buy them again. When in doubt, examine packaging, read ingredients lists, poke and prod and ask the sales clerks for assistance (benefits of shopping in person versus online!).

You contribute more directly to your immediate community. This is obvious, right? But spending money at a locally-owned pet store goes another step further than keeping the money within the local economy. It’s also about sustaining the community in both quantifiable, financial terms and qualitative, social means. I don’t know of any local pet store owner who started their business with the goal of making tons of money. Aside from filling a market need that they felt wasn’t being met elsewhere, the “selfish” but ultimately profound reason was that such a business allowed them to earn a living in a pleasurable way. In a perfect world, we would all be working jobs that we enjoyed, while contributing positively to the world around us. The pet stores that I frequent create spaces for exactly the types of community-enriching commerce that I’d like to see more of.

Local stores are more likely to sponsor adoption events with a variety of local rescues. This is not to say that national chains don’t also participate in adoption activities; the better-managed stores do have connections with local animal shelters, and will make a conscientious effort to rehome pets whenever possible. But at least in my experience, I have seldom seen national chains make space for older or “special needs” pets. Rather, they primarily rehome puppies and kittens — the easiest ones to sell. And these adoption events are frequently spearheaded by corporate interests such that the event becomes more about advertising, or how much free, branded stuff you can give away for every adoption, and less, I think, about animal welfare as an organizing event unto itself.

Local stores are more responsive to feedback. Heard about a great new product that you wish you could get in town? Tell them about it, and it may be on the shelves as early as next week. Don’t like the fact that the store resells puppies and kittens from unethical breeders? Tell them, and then don’t shop there — it’s more likely to affect policy changes at a small business than a major corporation where decisions are made at an entirely different level, perhaps in another part of the country altogether.

A corollary to this is that local pet store owners are more likely to know your name not just as a bunch of letters on your credit card slip. As a smaller store with a small staff, it didn’t take me long to recognize everyone that works at Local Pet Store A, and for them to remember me and my dogs in return. But at PetSmart, I see different folks working the cash registers nearly every time (granted, I only go once in a blue moon!). They often seem to be young, bored looking teenaged clerks who are probably just discovering how mind-numbingly dull the corporate world can be. In other words, the working conditions and the nature of the job results in high turnover, unless store policies foster a supportive work atmosphere by giving employees some kind of personal investment — which can be as simple as allowing them to dress the way they want. Or allowing them to bring their own pets to the store. Or playing the music they feel like playing, if they want to put anything on the speakers at all…

Which leads me to my last reason why locally-owned stores are more deserving of your shopping dollars than national pet stores…

Your local store is less likely to play annoying Christmas music on repeat. And when I’m doing my holiday shopping this month, that makes a difference.

So maybe we have it good in the Bay Area, but I have to believe that other parts of the world have great locally-owned pet supply and feed stores, too. What’s it like in your neck of the woods? If you don’t know, check your town’s business directories and find out.

And if you really can’t find a locally-owned store worth patronizing on a regular basis, I dare you start one.

When I tell the folks who work at Pet Store A that Bowdu is not to have any processed chicken, beef, or grain, they are totally understanding and bust out the “fancy” treats. Once, they broke apart some Salmon Paws jerky for my dogs. Bowpi, who can barely stay focused for more than two seconds when around strangers or in new environments, immediately had her butt planted on the carpet. All eyes were on the clerk as he handed out the treats, and seconds were just as happily consumed. They were so persistent, they even got offered a third bite that particular day. Tearing Bowpi away from her new best friend at the pet store was a bit of a challenge.

Impressed by their fixation and hoping to win back my own dogs, I grabbed a two-pack of “OMEGA STIX” sitting next to the cash register. The simplicity of the packaging and the promise of natural, skin-boosting vitamins was attractive to me. Then she rang up this tiny little packet at practically five dollars for about eight inches of dried fish, and I immediately experienced pricetag whiplash. I can buy a whole bag of large dried anchovies for less than that, or better yet, a slab of fresh salmon to dehydrate and work into jerky on my own! However, my credit card was already on the other side of the counter and the order was processed before I had a chance to react. I collected my purchases with my tail tucked between my legs and scurried home to hit up the Salmon Paws website, hoping i wouldn’t feel even more punished by questionable company ethics or something.

Luckily, they seem to be a conscientious and small, family-run operation. They’ve been around since 2008 and rely on more small-scale pet boutiques, pet magazines, and internet sales to distribute and advertise their products. The size of the company probably accounts for the high price, but at least I don’t feel like they’re trying to pull anything over on me. Aside from jerky and sticks, they also offer meal supplements with salmon, sweet potato, broccoli and carrots that look pretty good, as well as feline treats.

The website states that the treats are all made with “human grade” ingredients (a statement which is legally ambiguous and might be more cynically considered a marketing tactic rather than an accurate indication of quality). According to the interview linked above, they can make this claim because their treats are manufactured at a Washington-based plant that is licensed to make food for human consumption. So I felt comfortable taking a couple bites of these Omega Stix for myself before offering Bowdu and Bowpi their respective pieces.

Yes, you can call me weird for regularly sampling my pets’ treats (though I’ve never tried their kibble or raw food). Of course, I keep in mind that tastiness is probably relative to species. After all, they both lick their own buttholes and I’ve seen Bowpi take a bite out of cow poop before, much to my horror — obviously, certain lines must be drawn. But if I had any fear that the treats I sample are going to kill or disgust me, why would I feed it to them?

As a human, I also understand how to savor food. In the time it took me to linger over my soft, chewy, flavorful inch of salmon stick and grab my camera, both dogs had already gobbled up their share and commenced with much lip-licking. Their contentment was apparent. The value of the treat? Not so much.

If price was no obstacle, Salmon Paws Omega Stix would get an A grade! I bet they would work wonders broken up into little nibbles as training treats for dogs that need a strong motivational incentive.

However, here at the House of Two Bows, price is a significant factor for consideration. In this case, it’s a major deterrent. I think both Bowdu and Bowpi would be just as happy with salmon sashimi or a whole fried fish from Ranch 99, which would cost just as much and provide a longer duration of eating pleasure.

Six weeks or so after the first Cone of Pride! and Triumph!, we finally have to admit that deterring Bowdu from chewing his footsies is turning into a longer term challenge than anticipated, so I got him something that’s hopefully a little more comfortable.

This the KONGE-Collar, XL size (for neck sizes 14″ – 21″), priced at $19.99 from our favorite Pet Store A (where my cumulative discount kicked in, so they actually knocked $10 off everything I bought that day). Shiba Inu are hardly “extra large” dogs, but this was the only size where the depth of the cone (at least 20 cm) was sufficient to keep his muzzle from touching his feet. KONG’s size specs only mention the circumference of the cone, so this is something to keep in mind if you’re purchasing the item online, or without fitting.

Bowpi photobomb!

Set on the smallest sizing, the cone hangs loosely on Bowdu’s neck, but it doesn’t seem in danger of coming off. We did not attach it to a collar. If he learned to be really sneaky — like wedging himself under a chair and then backing out, for instance — it could be removed. But since he’s had some time to acclimate to life in a cone, this isn’t an upsetting change. The KONG E-collar seems slightly heavier than the old cone, even after cutting off the excess that we don’t need. However, the padded rims and see-through plastic really do seem more comfortable all around (for me too, when he charges against my legs!). Not so sure about the hard plastic clips used to hold the cone into shape. I’ve left them alone for now, but I may cover them with Band-aids or something if they prove to be an irritant.

I just hope it isn’t magnifying the intensity of the sun and creating some kind of greenhouse effect around his head… Not that it ever really gets too hot hereabouts. Bowdu is always free to come in when he wants. He does find the cone an inconvenience at the water dish, so he hasn’t been drinking as much as I’d like. Lately, I’ve been compensating for that by sharing watermelon with him, which he loves. At any rate, we trust that he knows how to self-regulate when it comes to basic physical needs like thirst, being too hot/cold, etc.

Unfortunately, he can’t do anything to help himself when he feels dirty. Bowpi is free to lick whatever she pleases, but Bowdu hasn’t been able to groom himself for weeks. This must be doing more to strip him of his Shiba pride than the funny cone itself.

Nope, she’s not nibbling. She’s just resting her head on her paw, appearing deep in thought.

Basenjis have an ill-deserved reputation for being not very “intelligent” owing to some 1994 study of dubious merit. Basically, it sounds like they took a one-size-fits-all approach to evaluating dogs and rated different breeds based on how many repetitions it took for a dog to learn a command. No mention of what kinds of rewards (if any) or physical techniques were used, or whether the evaluators were even fit to judge, which leads me to think the entire study is hogwash.

I’d hardly describe Bowpi as unintelligent, but rather, a dog who has a clear understanding of what she likes: sleeping, eating, snuggling, and exploring the outdoors (but not the backyard, which she uses for the occasional sunbath). These are activities she enjoys in and of themselves, and not necessarily suitable as training incentives. She certainly won’t respond “correctly” to every command, even a simple sit if you’re asking her to do so on bare floors. It’s one reason why she likes Pet Store A as much as she does, I think. Aside from the gourmet salmon treats they offer, they have carpeted floors, a rarity among pet boutiques. That seems to be the main reason Bowpi so willingly responds to their requests. Otherwise, she gives no indication of being willing to obey strangers — what’s the point, after all?

I don’t think she got very much mental stimulation in the life preceding ours. Yet, I often see a twinkle in her eyes that makes me think she’s eager to process new things, even if she holds back on responding to them. We haven’t done much to train her, as she didn’t really come with any bad behaviors that needed correction. If anything, more pressure was put on Bowdu, as he had to learn to accept her constant presence and understand that she was not to be bullied. I’ll probably write more about their introduction at some other point. Suffice to say, this match worked largely because Bowpi is so introverted and doesn’t demand interaction, at least not at home.

Photo taken 22 April 2010

The most solid “new” cue that she’s learned from us has been Go to bed. That is, after sleeping all day on the futon in my study room, we’ll tell her to Go to bed at night, at which time she’ll rise like a serpent from her sea of blankets, and trot directly to the bedroom where she happily curls up against the nearest available human lump, and continues to sleep some more.

Today, the Bad: Witnessed a fight at the off-leash dog park, which I find rare at this large, unfenced one in particular. It was between a nondescript man wrapped in a hooded windbreaker w/ a pit bull vs. older man w/ a German shepherd and border collie mix. Man with pit bull seemed unable to restrain his dog, releasing him two or three times before the two parties were able to separate themselves. Man with German Shepherd and other dog seemed unable to restrain himself, yelling up a storm and getting downright violent with his tennis racket while screaming anti-pit bull curses. Bad situation all around.

I’m not interested in who started what. What concerned me at that moment was how Bowdu rushed towards the commotion, as many dogs are prone to do when fights break out. Luckily, I think because this park happened to be large enough, he only bounded about halfway towards the fighting dogs (and men), then stopped. He ignored me for a few seconds, gawking on the periphery of trouble, but then came towards me when I called and started walking away. When both Bowdu and Bowpi were at my side, I leashed them up and we looped around the trail until I was confident that both dog owners wouldn’t interfere with the remainder of our walk. Such incidents always cast a pall over an otherwise pleasant place, and I’m sorry to see such things happen.

The Good: Stopped into Pet Store A to pick up yet another bag of Primal Raw, and managed to get it for $4 less because of a pricing snafu. “Is this stuff so fresh that it has seasonal prices?” I asked, pointing out that the price was much lower than it was last time. I was rewarded for my observance with the discounted mispricing. Sweet deal!

Then driving home, we spotted this little cutie riding high in an open-top convertible:

Bowdu’s been licking himself so much that he’s developed patches of black, calloused fur. His back right foot, a particular fixation for him, has become infected. Most recently, the vet pronounced it a staph infection, apparently secondary to the infection that sent him to the vet the last time (I’ll spare you the gunk-filled pictures of THAT first stage!). He was on 7 days of Clavamox starting from back in late June, which did the job of clearing things up until he continued to lick the germs into his bloodstream, for which he is now on 20 days worth of Enrofloxacin. This is in addition to the 4 mg (2 tablets) of Temaril-P that he continues to take every other day, in our attempt to control his allergies.

One irony in all this is that most of the drugs he’s consumed so far are manufactured by the pharmaceuticals company at which both my parents are employed. My mother even works specifically in the animal health department, but she professes to despise the practice of medicating our ailments. She wishes instead to “Simplify life” and follow a more natural route, whenever possible.

Now, in such cases where antibiotics are needed, I know no other alternatives. Undoubtedly he’d have gnawed off half his rotten toes by now without the “drastic” measures we’ve resorted to thus far. But when it comes to loading him up with synthetic antihistamines and corticosteroids (both of which are contained in Temaril-P), I’m more reluctant. I really would prefer to spend more money on quality food that might enhance his overall health, rather than throwing money into costly pharmaceutical fixes that will only stave off the problem in the short term, while possibly creating long-term health risks.

So another thing we’ve been trying is a change in diet, putting him in a completely raw diet for at least a month to see if we can observe a change. To that end, I’ve opted to go with Primal Raw nuggets, based on inspiring and optimistic testimonials from both basenji and shiba owners. I picked up his first four pound bag of Turkey & Sardines at a great little locally-owned pet store (hereafter named Store A) for $19.99, which is the best price I’ve seen. Prices vary depending on the protein source, anywhere from $17.99 to $30+ a bag at Store A. They also offer Primal accounts (buy 10 bags, get $5 off the next) in addition to their own punch card system (spend $100, get $10 credit towards accessories like treats and toys). The cost of pre-made raw has dissuaded me in the past from turning towards what is by all accounts a superior diet, but these kinds of extras offered by small, independently-operated venues like Store A, at least make this experiment more fiscally feasible.

Bowdu’s now on his second bag, for which we switched to the Canine Lamb formula. He’s done well on lamb in the past, so I wanted to offer him some variety to keep his interest (though it’s not hard — he loves new food!). No drastic changes so far that I would ascribe to the new food, but it’s too soon to tell. I fear that I may be switching formulas too quickly. Right now I’m focusing on the novelty of a raw diet, and not as picky about the protein source. One meat that we will not feed our dogs is duck, as my partner, having grown up in a lakeside home, considers them pets. But at this point, even venison and buffalo and rabbit can go on the menu, I think.

For reference, Bowdu was on Natural Balance sweet potato & fish before this. Before that, Canidae lamb & rice for a while. We’ve tried Canidae’s beef & ocean fish variety before (too rich for him, it seemed — lots of mushy stools) and a variety of Wellness that I can’t recall (also lots of stinky diarrhea). And before we were educated about dog food, Bowdu ate Science Diet for the first three years of his life.

I’m not yet prepared to initiate a full-scale elimination diet, but if this raw diet doesn’t work, that is the next step.